a question for the interwebs
I am lately returned from the wild of central Louisiana, but must turn to the internets for advice.
Thursday, I am taking the day to stand as a Music Workshop Leader for my friend's production of Twelfth Night at a local Shakespeare camp. Her students are all in middle school and will be performing a heavily cut version of the text. My friend and I met last week to discuss all the different routes to take with the music- the spectrum (as we see it) goes from
Write Our Own Melodies ------- Use Pre-existing Melodies for WS's Words ---- Put in Different But Thematically Similar Songs
Neither of us are particularly skilled at composing, so the far left end of the spectrum seems out. I was brainstorming on the plane this afternoon and think we may use 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' for the scene between Feste, Andrew, and Toby where 'O, Mistress Mine' would take place. While in a professional production, this generally would raise my eyebrows (I AM LOOKING AT YOU, AARON POSNER), it actually helps make the point I'm going to talk about with the kids that productions of Shakespeare's plays might/would have used familiar melodies for is songs and the Early Modern stage was FULL of contemporary references to people, places, music, etc.*
Several years back, a Twelfth Night on Twelfth Night party at the Qualms featured a lovely melody for the final song in the play, one that was easy to pick up and let us all join in and had an interesting sort of melancholy air that I really liked. I've emailed the guy who led the song and hope to hear back from him soon, because I love the qualities that the setting brought the song and think it'll work well with my friend's idea for the ending of the play.
BUT. I am at an UTTER LOSS as to what to do with 'Come Away, Death.' It is the song that HAS MY LJ USERNAME IN IT, and yet I am stumped. Does anyone have any ideas of what to do? Has anyone ever encountered someone setting those words to an easy, familiar melody? Does anyone have any ideas for a substitute song? Is there an option I'm not seeing?
HELP ME, OBI-FLIST KENOBI. YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE. FOR SERIOUS.
* OH GOD I SUDDENLY REALIZED I AM ONLY HALF REMEMBERING THIS. I AM SOMEWHAT CORRECT ABOUT THE MUSIC, YEAH? WHAT THE HELL ARE SOURCES FOR ME TO BEEF UP ON THIS BEFORE THURSDAY??
Thursday, I am taking the day to stand as a Music Workshop Leader for my friend's production of Twelfth Night at a local Shakespeare camp. Her students are all in middle school and will be performing a heavily cut version of the text. My friend and I met last week to discuss all the different routes to take with the music- the spectrum (as we see it) goes from
Write Our Own Melodies ------- Use Pre-existing Melodies for WS's Words ---- Put in Different But Thematically Similar Songs
Neither of us are particularly skilled at composing, so the far left end of the spectrum seems out. I was brainstorming on the plane this afternoon and think we may use 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand' for the scene between Feste, Andrew, and Toby where 'O, Mistress Mine' would take place. While in a professional production, this generally would raise my eyebrows (I AM LOOKING AT YOU, AARON POSNER), it actually helps make the point I'm going to talk about with the kids that productions of Shakespeare's plays might/would have used familiar melodies for is songs and the Early Modern stage was FULL of contemporary references to people, places, music, etc.*
Several years back, a Twelfth Night on Twelfth Night party at the Qualms featured a lovely melody for the final song in the play, one that was easy to pick up and let us all join in and had an interesting sort of melancholy air that I really liked. I've emailed the guy who led the song and hope to hear back from him soon, because I love the qualities that the setting brought the song and think it'll work well with my friend's idea for the ending of the play.
BUT. I am at an UTTER LOSS as to what to do with 'Come Away, Death.' It is the song that HAS MY LJ USERNAME IN IT, and yet I am stumped. Does anyone have any ideas of what to do? Has anyone ever encountered someone setting those words to an easy, familiar melody? Does anyone have any ideas for a substitute song? Is there an option I'm not seeing?
HELP ME, OBI-FLIST KENOBI. YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE. FOR SERIOUS.
* OH GOD I SUDDENLY REALIZED I AM ONLY HALF REMEMBERING THIS. I AM SOMEWHAT CORRECT ABOUT THE MUSIC, YEAH? WHAT THE HELL ARE SOURCES FOR ME TO BEEF UP ON THIS BEFORE THURSDAY??